China Heritage Tours for FCC

Dates: 13 days from Jul. 20 to Aug.1, 2008
Route: Guangzhou (Jul. 20-23)/Li Jiang (Jul. 24-26)/Kun Ming (Jul. 27-28)/Shanghai (Jul. 29-Aug. 1)
Fee: $975/Adult; $650/Child
None Refundable Deposit: $75/Adult; $50/Child

The China Heritage Program or Root-Seeking Summer Camp program, has benefited, since its inception in the 1980’s, thousands of students of Chinese heritage all over the world have benefited. As the coordinating institution in US West Coast, we’ve received requests from FCC parents and school teachers, asking to expand the program to include Families with Children from China. With careful deliberation, consultation, planning and preparation together with the China Overseas Exchanges Association, the program’s Chinese organizer, we announce here that along with the regular annual heritage program the launching of a special FCC program. The following is some general information of the 2008 FCC China Heritage Tours.

For More details, please call John Zhang at (650) 259-2106 or send e-mail to johnzhang@nanhai.com.

What is China Heritage Tours?
The China Heritage Tours, known also as the Root-Seeking Summer Camp, refer to the acclaimed annual cultural event organized by the China Overseas Exchange Association to host students (aged 12-18) of Chinese heritage around the world to meet, personally experience and learn about China, her people and the Chinese culture. So well organized and planned, this program, which started in the early 1980s, has grown into a major national event, attracting more than 5000 participants each year.

The FCC tours are a part of this successful program.

Why the FCC China Heritage Tours?
By now, the China Heritage Tours used to have Chinese speaking students from Chinese schools only. The FCC China Tours are organized in recognition and appreciation of the kindness and generosity of the FCC parents. The purpose of the FCC Tours is to help the FCC children, through their visits to scenic, historical and cultural sites and direct contacts with the people and culture, learn to appreciate and take pride in their Chinese heritage and roots and establish in them self-respect, confidence and a healthy personality.

Therefore, FCC tours are more of a special cultural exchange program for adopted Chinese children rather than strictly for tourism. They are designed to be an experience that the child shares with one chaperone (usually a parent). Therefore participants must be children adopted from China and their immediate US family members. Only a very limited number of non-Chinese siblings are allowed to participate in this program. The age requirements for participating children are between 7 and 18.

What does the fee cover ?
Thanks to the generous subsidies provided by the China Overseas Exchange Association, the fees for FCC Tours are significantly lower than the commercial tours and other non-profit programs.

The fees include domestic transportation within China per the schedule including buses and domestic airfare, site entrance fees, accommodations in four-star hotels, bilingual tour guides and/or escorts, and three meals a day (breakfast only for the last day). Also included is scheduled shuttle transportation from the international airport to the Tour hotel (on arrival day) and from the Tour hotel to the international airport (on departure day).

The fees do NOT include passport and visa processing fees, international airfare, extra activities beyond site entrance fees such as business center and room services, laundry, personal purchases such as snacks and drinks, or travel insurance (emergency medical and trip cancellation).

Differences between the FCC and regular programs:
The routes and activities of the FCC Tours, specially designed for the FCC groups, vary greatly from those of the regular heritage program.
1) For the FCC tours, parents are encouraged to travel together with the children.
2) The age requirements for the FCC groups have been lowered to 7-12.
3) An interpreter will be assigned to each FCC group besides the local tour leader and facilitator from China Overseas Exchange Association.
4) The FCC groups will have more sightseeing and cultural activities and join the regular heritage program only at the memorable opening and closing ceremonies.

Special points of attention:
• All passports for Heritage Tour participants must be valid for SIX (6) months beyond the dates of this trip.
• Child’s Chinese passport, in addition to valid American passport, is required by the PRC if this is the first return visit to China.
• Mail Application to Nan Hai Arts Center with:
     • appropriate deposit and application fee
     • signed Waiver(s) of Liability
     • photocopies of the ID pages of each traveler’s valid US passport, and
     • a photocopy of the ID page of your child’s Chinese passport
• Not to book airline tickets until confirmation of participation by tour contact person
• Forward all flight information to tour contact person.
• If only one parent is accompanying the adoptive child on this trip, a notarized letter signed by the other parent permitting the trip on the specified dates must be prepared.
• Temperature of the relevant cities in August:
     - Shanghai: 88-92°F
     - Li Jiang: 60-80°F
     - Kun Ming: 60-80°F
     - Chengdu: 89-93°F
     - Xi'an: 89-93°F

Can you make your own travel plans?
You can, of course, plan your arrival and departure from China at times that are convenient for you. Some participants prefer to arrive earlier than the Tour commencement or stay beyond the end date of the Tour. Travel accommodations prior to and following the Tour dates are not included in the Tour planning or costs. Likewise, free shuttle transportation is only available from and to the designated airports and is available only on the arrival date (July 20th) and departure date (August 1st).

Families are welcome to make arrangements to do more sightseeing or visit their child's orphanage either before or after the official Heritage Tour. We would be more than happy to help contact relevant agencies for making such arrangements.

A Brief Introduction to Nan Hai Arts Center
Established in September 1987 in Millbrae on the beautiful San Francisco Peninsula, Nan Hai USA is one of the major comprehensive cultural establishments in North America dedicated to the promotion of bilateral friendship and exchanges between the United States and China.

In the field of education, Nan Hai has sponsored over 100 lectures and training activities by renowned scholars from China for local Chinese teachers while organizing dozens of teachers delegations and groups of students to China for academic exchanges and summer language programs. The “International Conferences on New Technologies in Teaching & Learning Chinese” and the “Forum on Chinese Language Education in U.S. West Coast”, initiated and organized by Nan Hai, have become major international events in the field. Our Masters Degree program for teaching Chinese as a second language in cooperation with Ji’nan University is the first such program ever approved of in North America by the Chinese Ministry of Education.

In the past 20 years, Nan Hai has presented about 200 art exhibitions and 30 major performing arts events. Many of these events represent the highest professional level in its field. Our Exhibition of Award-winning Works at the annual China National Art Exhibition held in cooperation with the Chan Artists Association provided a window into the status quo as well as new trends of Chinese art. Our concerts by the China National Orchestra and the China National Dance Troupe is widely recognized as the best Chinese music events ever held in the Bay Area and are still the talk amongst music lovers today. We have also organized exhibitions and performance tours of U.S. artists to China.